Welcome to November. We are past the midway point of what has been an eventful and sometimes difficult fall term.
November is a critical month of commemoration for us at Portland State as we embark on Native American Heritage Month and soon will honor Veterans Day.
We are also celebrating the formal opening of two of our newest cultural centers in the coming days. Today I want to share with you why these are so important to PSU, how they might help us process our emotions about current global conflicts and enhance our campus community.
On Friday, we will open the DREAMer Success Resource Center. This long-awaited campus center formalizes our commitment to providing a safe, supportive space at PSU where DREAMers, those accessing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, along with students who are undocumented, mixed-status, or have other immigration experience. The fate of DACA is gravely uncertain having been challenged in the courts, but PSU remains committed to enrolling DREAMers and will do everything we can to make sure they can be successful students. The opening of our center represents years of hard work and activism on the part of students and staff and is cause for celebration.
Next week, we celebrate the opening of the new space for our Middle East, North Africa, South Asia (MENASA) Cultural Center. Against the backdrop of war and unthinkable cruelty in the Middle East, the mission of this Center is particularly timely. The MENASA initiative, which launched in 2017, is dedicated to being a safe space for dialogue and debate. The people in the MENASA region are far too familiar with conflict sprouting from issues of identity, sovereignty, and history. The center is resolute in its commitment to promoting opportunities for connection and the pursuit of peace through the nurturing of our shared humanity.
Both of these centers are dedicated safe spaces opening their doors during challenging times. These spaces align with what PSU is all about and the values that we hold dear. There is a place at PSU for everyone, especially those who have been underserved and traditionally excluded from higher education. At PSU we value debate and dialogue; we have space for multiple perspectives and experiences. We do not tolerate violence or hate of any kind, and we stand up strongly against antisemitism and Islamophobia, both of which are rising nationally as a result of recent events. We believe that students, faculty and staff — with all of their diverse backgrounds and beliefs — deserve to be safe and seen in our community.
As we watch with sadness the human tragedies unfolding in the Middle East war, many in our community are in pain and passions are understandably running high. It is more important than ever that we recommit to our core values. PSU is a place where everyone belongs and everyone is worthy of respect.
Let’s commit to learning about ourselves as well as about others and as a diverse, urban, serving institution. Let’s be resolute in our commitment to work for justice and equity. There might not be anything we can do or say to alter global conflicts, but we can build the community we desire here at home by rejecting intolerance and co-creating an environment where peace and the pursuit of knowledge can thrive.
I hope to see many of you at these celebratory events and in the days and weeks to come.